Here's a device to add to your steampunk fiction: the chatelaine, a popular accessory from the 19th century. Part practicality, part fashion accessory, the chatelaine was the perfect way for women on the go to carry all of their tools. »5/25/13 2:00pm 5/25/13 2:00pm

After the invention of daguerrotype, the memorializing habits of people have changed: they've chosen the cheap, higher quality photographs instead of expensive and not so lifelike paintings. Painting dead people was common for centuries, so it's no surprise that, in the Victorian Era, post-mortem photos also came… »4/13/13 11:00am 4/13/13 11:00am

What if the majesty of On Her Majesty's Secret Service was Queen Victoria? We might not have had the same type of Cold War gadgetry that made Ian Fleming's novels and the James Bond films, but the 19th century had its own brand of wonderful toys. Here are a handful of gadgets and tools the steampunk spy might want to… »11/10/12 11:00am 11/10/12 11:00am

The Victorian Era may not have had its own version of the Darwin Awards, but thanks to the miracle of newspaper records, we can reflect on the bizarre deaths and disasters of yore. The blog The Baby Died collects morbid clippings from 100 years ago, featuring billiard ball, corset, and umbrella-related demises. »9/22/12 10:00am 9/22/12 10:00am

We often romanticize the industrial technologies that came out of the Victorian Era, especially the clockwork and steam power associated with steampunk. But these Victorian infographics illustrate the era's understanding of natural sciences, including geology, astronomy, and biology. »12/22/09 2:32pm 12/22/09 2:32pm